Located in Westchester County, New York, 45 minutes north of Manhattan, Edith Macy Center (“Macy”) is a 400-acre site named after Edith Carpenter Macy, chair of Girl Scouts’ National Board of Directors from 1919 to 1925. It honors Edith’s dream of a permanent Girl Scout instructional facility equipped to offer Girl Scout leaders high-quality training and guidance.
The centerpiece of Edith Macy Center, Great Hall, is a magnificent, rustic-style structure designed by James Yardley Rippin, a friend of Lou Henry Hoover (wife of former President Herbert Hoover and Mrs. Macy’s successor as chair of the National Board). Rippin, the husband of Girl Scout National Director Jane Deeter Rippin, also designed Rapidan Camp, the Hoovers’ presidential retreat from 1929 to 1933, and shared Mrs. Hoover's belief in the benefits of the outdoors.
Macy was the site of the first United States International World Camp in 1926—the last Girl Scout gathering attended by Juliette Gordon Low and which elevated her advocacy of internationalism for Girl Scouting a year before her death. It was also at this event that participants designated February 22 as World Thinking Day.
Fast-forward to 1982, when, under the leadership of then-CEO Frances Hesselbein, GSUSA added to the center corporate meeting rooms, a 190-plus-seat auditorium, and 52 guestrooms. This "University in the Woods,” as Macy was called in its early days, continues to serve as the site of many Girl Scout workshops and conferences, and is managed by Benchmark International. It embodies the spirit of learning in Girl Scouting and is open to other nonprofit and for-profit organizations as well, for trainings and conferences.
Visit the center's website for more information.
Contact Edith Macy Center
Phone: 914-945-8000
From the New York City area: 800-442-MACY (800-442-6229)
